Hoddle Bridge

The Hoddle Bridge is an arch bridge that carries Punt Road over the Yarra River between Richmond and South Yarra in Melbourne, Australia.^[1] It is a five-lane road bridge with narrow footpaths on either side. It is of continuous reinforced concrete T-beam construction with five segmental arched spans, supported on transverse piers, and linked by concrete cross-beams.

Hoddle Bridge
Coordinates	37°49′49″S 144°59′16″E / 37.83028°S 144.98778°E / -37.83028; 144.98778
Carries	Punt Road
Crosses	Yarra River
Locale	Melbourne, Australia
Owner	VicRoads
Characteristics
Design	Continuous reinforced concrete T-beam
History
Opened	22 December 1938 (1938-12-22)
Location

History

Under agreement from the Melbourne City Council and the Country Roads Board, the board began construction of the bridge began in late 1937,^[2] with tenders for sub-contracted work (involving driving 240 concrete piles and the construction of four river piers) released. During 1937, the contractor drove all the piles and completed one pier, but owing to the slow rate of progress the contract was concluded and the work completed by direct labour under the Board's engineers. As no satisfactory tender was received for the construction of the abutments and super-structure, the work put in hand by the Board by direct labour.^[2] Total cost was A£77,009.^[3]

Before construction of the bridge began, the nearest crossing for traffic was at the Morell Bridge, a half-mile downstream. Traffic conditions at this narrow bridge was very congested, as a considerable proportion of traffic which came down from the north along Punt Road was compelled to swing to the west to cross the river and thence again to the east for an extra mile.^[3] Comparisons of traffic measurements taken in the vicinity before and after the bridge had opened had shown not only a decrease in total distance in crossing the river, but an increase of traffic of 17.38%.^[3]

The bridge was originally referred to as Punt Road Bridge,^[2] but was named after the surveyor Robert Hoddle upon opening by the Premier of Victoria Albert Dunstan on 22 December 1938.^[4][5][6] It replaced an earlier footbridge, which in turn had replaced a punt service.

References

1. "Hoddle Bridge, Yarra River, Heritage Overlay HO281". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria.
2. "Country Roads Board Victoria. Twenty-Fifth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1938". Country Roads Board. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 24 November 1938. pp. 34–35, 89.
3. "Country Roads Board Victoria. Twenty-Sixth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1939". Country Roads Board. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 10 November 1939. p. 5.
4. "Advertising". Camperdown Chronicle. Vol. XLII, no. 7132. Victoria, Australia. 24 December 1938. p. 8. Retrieved 26 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia., ...The Premier paid a tribute to the co-operation of the Melbourne City Council with the Government in the provision of Hoddle-bridge when he opened the bridge on Thursday...
5. "AUSTRALASIAN NEWS IN BRIEF". Weekly Times. No. 3718. Victoria, Australia. 31 December 1938. p. 6. Retrieved 26 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia., ..Hoddle Bridge, Melbourne's latest traffic link between the southern and northern municipalities at Punt Road, was officially opened last week by the Premier...
6. "I'M TELLING THE WORLD". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 31, 046. Victoria, Australia. 2 March 1946. p. 16 (The Argus Week-end Magazine). Retrieved 26 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia., ...Hoddle Bridge, which now spans the Yarra at Punt rd, was opened to traffic on December 22, 1938, and named after Mr R. Hoddle the first surveyor of the City of Melbourne...